Snapshots of St. George's

Angel Yang ’18 was at the Elms enjoying some time off with her father recently when she got some great news: She’d been admitted to a prestigious program at Stanford University to study Japanese history and culture. One of just 27 students across the globe to be admitted to The Reischauer Scholars Program, Angel began the online course for high school students last week. A native of Hangzhou, China, outside Shanghai, Angel said she first became interested in Japanese culture when she was in elementary school and watched anime and played Pokémon. “I was the only girl who brought a Game Boy on a school trip in first grade,” she said. “Later I read books about Japan and visited multiple museums as I traveled there.”

The Stanford program says it provides “a broad overview of Japanese history, literature, religion, art, politics, economics and contemporary society, with a special focus on the U.S.–Japan relationship.

“Ambassadors, top scholars and experts throughout the United States and Japan provide online lectures and engage students in live discussion sessions.”

Angel, who hopes to study industrial design in college, said her fellow students are already sharing information and stories about themselves through group chats — and she’s excited to get to know people who share similar interests. She counts Watanabe Junichi and Higashino Keigo among her favorite Japanese authors and L’Arc-en-Ciel is one of her favorite bands. “I'm also a fan of several Japanese artists and fashion designers, and I love the smart design of a lot of Japanese products,” she said. “That's why I have a lot of them!”